Google Geo Tools workshop set to be held in Harare

The MAPA project, an initiative to “make African conservation more accessible and visible”, will be holing a Google Geo Tools training workshop in Harare in May. The purpose of the workshop is to help conservation practitioners in Zimbabwe understand and use Google mapping tools like Google Earth, Maps and Fusion Tables to visualize and share their work online.

The event is the first such mapping event where learning the practical application of Google mapping technology is the focus. Through the workshop and other related efforts in the coming months, MAPA hopes to highlight conservation efforts, areas and issues in Zimbabwe through the Google tools.

The workshop is part of what the MAPA project calls the Zim Project Map Drive, a Zim focused effort to create a registry & public, shareable map to which anyone can contribute. According to the MAPA project, Zimbabwe has been their first focus country and they hope to use the work done in here as p template when they take the project to other countries in Africa. The MAPA Project’s vision is to map all African conservation projects.

The MAPA project is a non-profit based in South Africa. You can read more about them on their website.